


Apple Cider

by greyquill



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten is Whipped, Class Differences, Fluff and Humor, Hybrids, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Qian Kun is so done, Shy Lee Taeyong, Soulmates, black and white cats, dream babies appear briefly, holiday tingz, y'all already know what's up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:27:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28086180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyquill/pseuds/greyquill
Summary: The first time Ten sawhimwas probably the most ordinary event of his whole life, so normal he’d probably fall asleep thinking about it. He was lounging on the carpeted perch his “owners” built for him, soaking up the sun shining in through the window, on his nth nap of the day, and then that white cat came along and Ten just wasn't the same.~~~Alternatively: the hybrid taeten holiday fic no one asked for.
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Nakamoto Yuta/Qian Kun
Comments: 38
Kudos: 133





	Apple Cider

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays to y'all! Here's an early gift! Hope you like it :)

The first time Ten saw _him_ was probably the most ordinary event of his whole life, so normal he’d probably fall asleep thinking about it. He was lounging on the carpeted perch his “owners” built for him, soaking up the sun shining in through the window. From there, he could see the neighboring apartment building, the sidewalk below, the few leaves skittering on it, the street running alongside the apartment complex.

He remembers Kun in the background, messing around on his work desk, mumbling to himself, playing with his keyboard and drum machine. His husband, Yuta, was in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Salmon and steamed vegetables, his favorite. As he said, it was a normal evening. And Ten started people watching after his 12th nap of the day.

The people down on the sidewalk minding their business, some jogging past, others walking their dogs, a few waiting around the bus stop. Nothing interesting there. Movement from the next building grabbed his attention. Directly across from his window sat another and through it, he could see a bare apartment filled with a few cardboard boxes. Two humans, one tall, one short were carrying boxes in and setting them down, but that’s not what caught his attention.

What caught his attention was the boy helping them. Handsome enough to make someone do a double-take. He was helping them bring in the boxes and stepped close enough to the window for Ten to make out triangle ears blending into his white hair. 

Another hybrid, like him. The apartments already had their fair share of hybrids. There was the loud Tibetan mastiff-Siberian husky hybrid upstairs, Lucas, the uptight bunny next door, Doyoung, the cute troop of kittens, mice, and foxes downstairs, his babies.

The boy had looked over when he noticed him watching. Their eyes met, gold on blue, and the stranger looked away without so much as smiling or waving. 

Ten’s interest was piqued.

That was only the beginning of things though. Ten stayed on that perch, watching the new people move in. It wasn’t till the sun was setting that they finished getting their things in. The boy he saw, now in his cat form, jumped up onto the window sill. The thick-furred white cat, sitting there in the light of the setting sun, framed by the red leaves of the thin tree between their buildings, was the most prettiest thing he’d ever seen.

He could only hope that the new cat was a tom, not a queen like him (though if he was, he’d happily make him an exception). And if the sight of him alone sent him into an early heat, well who could blame him?

~~~

“Ten, I’m coming in.”

Kun steps into his room just as Ten hides his favorite barbed dildo beneath his pillows. He’s holding a tray with tomato soup and a small plate of tuna. “Are you feeling better now?” Kun asks as he sets the tray on his nightstand, flicking the small lamp on.

“Where’s Yuta?” Ten sits up, keeping his comforter over his lower body.

“At the office,” Kun arches a brow down at him, reaching to pet him. Ten moves out of the way before his hand can make contact with any part of him. “Are you feeling better?”

Ten ignores him in favor of leaning towards the tray of food, sniffling at the little plate of tuna. It’s been sprinkled with pepper and drenched in lemon juice like he likes. He smiles, ears perking on his head as he licks his lips.

“Ten, will you tell me if you’re ok or not so I can tell my worried husband.” Kun sighs. He’s wearing his brown corduroy pants and white knitted turtleneck so Ten knows it’s Wednesday, which means he’s supposed to have his outing today. “Hey, you listening to me?”

“I heard you,” Ten glances up at him. Those same old gold-rimmed glasses are sitting on his nose. “Kun-Kun, can I ask you something?”

“What’s the matter?”

“Why do you insist on dressing like a grandpa? You know producers are supposed to dress… cool.”

Kun’s nose scrunches up in annoyance, “It’s called fashion, you pampered brat. Eat your food, otherwise, I’m gonna tell Yuta you were being mean.”

Ten pouts, “I’m not a brat. Hey—” Kun turns around before he can leave the room and Ten smiles sweetly—“Can I borrow your phone to buy more toys?”

“No. You already hit your limit for this month.”

“No, Kun! I meant… the _other kind_ of toys,” Ten smirks and chuckles as Kun turns red.

“Maybe,” he coughs out. “Eat your food.” 

The door closes with a finality that makes Ten laugh again, falling into his bed with glee. He draws the pink dildo out from its hiding spot and wonders briefly if he should finish what he was doing or move on to lunch. He purrs, kissing the very tip of the loyal phallus, and very carefully cleans it off with wipes from his nightstand before tucking it away in the very special box under his bed with his one other toy.

He showers and eats his food in an hour, dressing into his special brand of clothes that allow him to shift into his cat form and back without losing them and ending up nude. Kun glances over when he emerges from the hall, holding the tray. “Did you eat it all?”

“Yes, _moooommmmmm_ ,” Ten nags, putting the tray away in the island cupboards and the plates in the sink.

Kun rolls his eyes and picks up his phone, typing away on it before setting it down again. “Yuta’s on his way.”

“Where we going today?” Ten smiles and walks over to Kun’s side, peering over his shoulder at his computer screen, filled with windows of his music programs. He shifts, perched on Kun’s shoulder.

Kun doesn’t so much as look at him as he pushes his seat back, letting the black cat hop down onto his lap. Ten purrs, stepping obnoxiously on Kun’s thighs before sitting to stare up at him. Kun arches a brow and scratches beneath his jaw, “We’re going to visit the new neighbors. We bought them a little housewarming gift while you were locked up in your room.”

Ten turns his head away from Kun’s hand and blinks up at him once.

“Yuta thought you’d like to meet them. They have a cat too.”

One of Ten’s ears flicks and his tail curves, tapping at Kun’s leg.

“We’re going somewhere after so yes, you have to wear your collar.”

Ten seems to glare at him before hopping off his lap and meandering away with his tail high in the air, essentially flashing Kun. The human sighs and returns his attention to his computer, saving his progress and jotting down a few more things to remember for whenever he gets the chance to work next.

Yuta gets home soon after, his key jangling in the lock, “Honey, I’m hoooomeee!” Kun gets up from his desk, stretching his arms over his head as Ten jumps down from one of his many perches to run up to Yuta, who smiles and picks him up. “Hi, Ten. How’s my baby feeling?”

Ten purrs and rubs the side of his face against Yuta’s neck and chin, climbing up so his paws rest on his shoulders. Yuta chuckles and pets a hand over Ten’s head, pulling his eyes and ears back with each stroke to which the cat only purrs louder.

“If we weren’t married, I’d think you love Ten more,” Kun says, crossing his arms and arching a brow at his husband.

Yuta grins, pressing a kiss to Ten’s little cat forehead before letting him gracefully drop to the floor. “No, of course not, my Kunnie. You are the love of my life and Ten is the baby of my life.” He smiles, drawing Kun into his arms. “You know my heart beats only for you, Kunnie, my sweet caramel apple—” a kiss to Kun’s cheek—“my beautiful songbird—” a kiss to his chin—“my—”

“Ok, we get the point!” They look over to see Ten angrily clasping his collar on, a simple white one Yuta gifted him for his birthday. “Can we please go now? I need to get out of here every once in a while, you know?”

Yuta smirks, pressing a quick kiss to Kun’s lips as he loosens his tie, “I’m just gonna change real quick.”

Kun watches his husband walk off before looking towards Ten, standing by their window with his hands stuffed in his oversized hoodie, ears perked like he’s got his attention on a bird. “Ten—” the hybrid glances over at him, his blue eyes piercing his soul almost—“you want the backpack or the harness?”

“Is it cold outside?”

“It’s a little chilly.”

Ten strides over to him, “Backpack, please. Where are we going after?” He asks, watching as Kun grabs his carrier backpack from the rack by the door.

“We’re going to buy Christmas decorations,” Kun unzips it and makes sure the temperature control function on the carrier is working properly before closing it and sliding it on.

“But it’s barely October! Halloween hasn’t even passed.”

“The ornaments will be cheaper.”

“Does this mean I can send you my Christmas list now?”

“You’ve been naughty so no.”

Ten pouts and hugs onto Kun’s arm, “You’re so mean to me! I’ve been good! I’m like the bestest cat!”

“That’s not even a word,” Kun pries his clawed hands off. “You’re gonna mess up my sweater, Ten.”

“Psh! Yuta can buy you like a thousand more of those! Come on, pleaseeee, Kun!”

“I’ve had this sweater since high school,” Kun steps away from him, checking to make sure no threads were pulled out.

“And it still fits you?”

Kun’s face goes through a range of emotions before settling on annoyed, “Ten Qian Nakamoto!”

“Uh oh, he brought out the full name,” Yuta chuckles, stepping back into the living room, dressed down to jeans and a long sleeve as Ten shifts and runs to hide behind his legs. “What’s going on now?”

Ten mews and Kun shakes his head, grabbing a gift bag from his work desk, “He’s being mean to me again.”

Yuta tuts as he picks Ten up, cradling him in his arms. “Ten-Ten, you gotta be nice if you want anything for Christmas this year—” Ten mews again and Yuta shakes his head—“Keep the teasing to a minimum, hm?” Ten purrs, curling up in Yuta’s arms, throwing his head back cutely, eyes all wide and sparkly. 

“Aww, what the hell! I can’t stay mad at you!”

Kun deadpans, “Ten could murder someone and you’d let him get away with it.”

“Not my angel! He would never! Right, Ten baby?” Yuta grins, scratching under his chin and ears. 

Kun stares Ten down with narrowed eyes. “Yuta is mine, you minx.”

“He knows that. He knows that, Kunnie,” Yuta chuckles. “He just likes messing with you cause he loves you so much, right, Ten?”

Kun scoffs, stroking two fingers up the tiny bridge of Ten’s nose and over his forehead. Ten keeps purring and licks the tips of his fingers, amusement flickering in his eyes when Kun jolts with the sensation of his barbed tongue. “Well, I love him too, but sometimes he really tests my patience.”

“Maybe he needs someone to play with. You want another play date with Lucas, Ten baby?”

The cat looks up at them in disapproval, his purring coming to a halt as he twists and wiggles out of Yuta’s arms, hurrying over to the door. Yuta laughs aloud as Kun follows beside him with a small smirk.

It’s not that he doesn’t like the dog hybrid, but he’s _huge_. He almost stepped on him last time and Ten swears his life flashed before his eyes. Yuta locks up the apartment when they step out and then the couple leads the way down the corridor connecting the two buildings to get to their new neighbor’s apartment. Ten follows along beside them, the tags on his collar jingling ever so slightly.

His “owners” make it a thing to get to know every hybrid owner in the complex. Testing the waters, figuring out if they’re good people to their hybrids or not. Hybrids don’t have many rights to begin with so Yuta takes it most seriously, being a human/hybrid rights lawyer and all. 

He glances down at Ten when they stop in front of the door, “You know the drill, alright?” The black cat looks up to meet his eyes and does a slow blink to which Yuta smiles wide and nods to Kun, “We’re ready.”

Kun puts on one of his sweet sweet smiles, the one that makes Ten wanna vomit and protect him all at the same time, and knocks on the door. Yuta picks Ten up, holding him in his arms like he’s a loaf of bread.

The door is answered by the tall human, towering over both his humans by a couple of inches. He’s probably even taller than Lucas in his human form. “Hi—” he looks both Yuta and Kun up and down, his gaze lingering on Ten before returning to the couple—“Can I help you?”

“Hi! I’m Kun and this is my hus…”

Kun’s voice fades into the background as Ten sets his plan in action, wriggling out of Yuta’s arms and running into the apartment before any of the humans can react. He hears Yuta and Kun call after him as he does a quick sweep of the place, under a table, through the kitchen, and into the living room. All clean, everything packed away, he doesn’t smell any sort of distress pheromones or see any signs of hybrid abuse, but he does pick up on the other cat’s scent.

He’s a tom, Ten smiles victoriously, well, as best as he can smile in his cat form.

He sees the hallway to the rest of the apartment, but a pair of hands pick him up before he can go snooping over there. He’s brought up, face to face with the smaller human—beautiful human.

“And who are you?”

The taller human walks over, Yuta and Kun trailing behind him into the apartment. “That is our neighbor, Ten.”

“Sorry, he doesn’t normally do that,” Yuta starts, taking him back from the smaller human’s arms.

“He probably smelled Taeyong.”

_So that’s his name. Interesting. Interesting._

Yuta pets his ears back, holding him in one arm. “Ten, this is Johnny and Taeil. You wanna introduce yourself?”

Ten mews and tries wiggling out of Yuta’s arms again. He _wants_ to meet this new cat. _Taeyong, Taeyong, Taeyong_ is a constant chant in his head; however, his human keeps a tight grip on him.

“Guess he doesn’t,” Kun murmurs.

“Do you wanna stay for tea or coffee?” Johnny asks, handing Taeil the gift bag. Taeil looks into the bag, smiling when he sees the scented candle within.

“We don’t want to impose and, actually, I think if we stay any longer, Ten won’t want to leave.”

Johnny chuckles, “Well, that’s alright. Taeyong needs some new friends anyway. So tea? Coffee?”

Kun and Yuta smile surprised as Johnny waves them in towards the kitchen. Taeil walks off into the hall to the rest of the apartment, calling for the other cat. “You can set him down if you want. Taeyong is really friendly. He’s just kind of shy,” Johnny says, starting up his coffee machine. “I wanted to break the coffee pot in, anyway. Haven’t gotten a chance trying to get settled in.”

“You have a lovely home,” Kun smiles, watching as Yuta puts Ten down.

“I swear he doesn’t have fleas or anything.”

Johnny laughs at the indignant look the black cat shoots up at his humans. “Thank you. Taeil is an interior designer as you can tell.”

“Wow, that’s impressive,” Yuta settles onto one of the stools at the island with Kun. Ten lingers by their feet. That seems to be the only difference between their apartments. They have a bigger layout to theirs, while Kun’s apartment has a more minimalistic design. This one feels homey.

And then Taeil comes into the room with that white cat in his arms. Yuta and Kun look over when he does, their mouths falling open, Kun in surprise, Yuta in adoration.

“Oh my god, he’s beautiful,” Kun murmurs.

Yuta coos, “He’s so pretty! What’s your name, precious?”

Taeil smiles as the white cat burrows his face into the crook between his body and his arm. “Taeyong. He’s shy.”

Johnny sidles up to Taeil, petting a gentle hand over Taeyong’s back, through his fluff of white fur. “Yong, these are our neighbors. Yuta and Kun. They have a hybrid too.”

Ten takes that as an opportunity to stride right up to Taeil and sit at his feet, staring up at the cat that sent him into an early heat. The other cat does, after a few coaxing pets from his humans, show his face again though he isn’t looking at him and Ten decides that is a problem.

“What is he?” Kun asks, smiling kindly.

“He’s a cross-breed between a Turkish Angora and a Ragdoll. The first of his kind actually. Right, Yong?” Johnny smiles slightly, scratching beneath the white cat’s chin. Taeyong melts in his hand, leaning into it.

“Wow. A pedigree,” Yuta whistles under his breath. “Our Ten is just a regular ol’ domestic shorthair.”

“I’ve never seen a black cat with blue eyes though,” Taeil says, looking down at Ten, who’s now standing on his hind legs and pawing at his jeans.

“Well, we don’t know where he gets it from. Yuta found him as a teen,” Kun nods towards Ten.

“Aw, so he really is your baby,” Johnny pouts down at Ten. “Are you just as pretty in your human form, Ten?”’

_You better believe it, jolly green giant. Let me meet your cat!_

Ten mews impatiently and keeps pawing at Taeil’s jeans. _That_ gets his attention. The beautiful white cat looks down at him and Ten turns on the charm, staring up at him unblinkingly. _“Hello.”_

Taeil, perceiving no aggression between the two cats, sets Taeyong down. Ten purrs, tail straight up, leaning forward to give him that customary nose kiss cat ‘hello’. Taeyong turns around before he can and walks out of the kitchen at a quick pace. Ten follows right behind him. The humans watch them go, continuing their conversation.

_“Hey! Wait for me, where you going?! I don’t have fleas, I swear!”_

Taeyong ignores him, keeping that bushy tail of his low to the ground as he hops up onto the couch and settles down. Ten follows and stops at the couch edge, leaning up on it so he’s face to face with Taeyong.

_“Hello? You can hear me, right?”_

_“I can’t talk to you.”_ Taeyong looks away, suddenly more interested in the evening sun shining in through the window next to a nice looking cat tower.

_“Why not? Cause I’m a normal kitty and you’re a fancy pedigree?”_ Ten would scoff if he could, his tail twitches behind him in irritation. This cat hasn’t even met him yet and he’s being so cold. Which makes him more curious.

Taeyong glances at him. Ten purrs when their eyes meet again. The sun makes the gold of Taeyong’s eyes stand out like ripe mango and _he hates fruits!_ Ten wonders if their kittens would have mismatched irises. 

_“That’s why I can’t talk to you.”_ Ten blinks in confusion and then realizes maybe he thought that last part out loud as Taeyong covers his nose with his tail. _“I probably won’t be here long enough to remember anything about you anyway.”_

_“What do you mean?”_ Ten hops up beside him and folds his legs neatly under himself.

_“Nothing.”_

The mysterious white cat doesn’t move away even when Ten leans a little closer, close enough he can feel the wispy ends of Taeyong’s fur on his.

_“I don’t see what the problem is. I thought all tomcats cared about was spreading their genes anyway. You get to breed with only the best. I don’t see a problem here.”_

Ten knows he’s digging into a soft spot, but he _needs_ Taeyong’s attention or he might just die. Pedigree hybrids like him are bred with the intent of making more until they’re an official rare breed of their own. After all, who doesn’t want an exotic hybrid?

Taeyong’s ears fold back, _“I’m not livestock to be…”_ He unfolds himself, sitting up. Ten gets a glimpse of his pretty pink collar hiding under his mass of fur. He even has a bell on it!? _A BELL?!_ How perfect can this cat be?! _“I don’t want to have sex with strangers. And I don’t want kittens to be discarded cause they don’t have the right traits to pass down.”_

_“So why don’t you just… not do it?”_

Taeyong looks at him ( _finally_ ). _“You think I have a choice? I have to if I want to stay with Johnny and Ilie. It’s in this stupid contract.”_

_“My human’s a lawyer! Maybe he can help you.”_

_“What? You don’t even know me. What’s in it for you?”_

Ten sits up, _“You. I know you might not care much, but the other day when you were moving in, I was… captivated by you._ **_You_ ** _sent_ **_me_ ** _into an early heat. So I feel like I need to get to know you or I’ll probably die. You want me to_ **_die_** _, Taeyong?”_ Ten imagines he’d be blushing if they were in their human forms. He’ll have to settle for those adorable ear twitches for now.

Taeyong looks away, ears perked, _“What kind of name is Ten, anyway?”_

_It’s the name you’re gonna be crying when I’m riding you into the sunset._

Taeyong looks at him with wide eyes.

_“Oh wait, did I say that out loud?”_

“Ten baby, time to go!” Yuta calls for him. “Say bye to your friend.”

They both look towards the kitchen. Their humans are hugging each other goodbye like they’ve known each other for years. Ten steals his nose kiss from Taeyong and hops off the couch, shifting as he does.

“Bye, Yongie~ We should hang out again soon.” Ten smirks, winking at the bewildered white cat before walking off towards where Kun and Yuta are by the front door waiting for him. He inclines his head politely towards Johnny and Taeil. “Sorry about earlier. I got excited.” He flashes his most charming smile and smirks internally when it works instantly.

“You’re welcome here anytime,” Johnny grins. Taeil nods, looking like he’s got a compliment on the tip of his tongue, but there’s plenty of time for those later.

“Ok, bye-bye!”

They leave and Ten grins, hooking his arms with Yuta’s and Kun’s. “What’s the matter with you?” Kun arches a brow at him, removing the backpack carrier to allow him in.

“I know what I want for Christmas,” Ten chuckles, shifting as he gets into the carrier.

~~~

“Ten, I’m pretty sure that’s considered harassment in some form or other.”

“Well, he didn’t tell me to stop or to _not_ flirt with him. I’ve lost like all my lives on the streets and I’m not letting this one go by me without romancing him!” Ten slams a hand down on the table between him and his frenemy.

Doyoung lifts his mug as he does so it doesn’t rattle and spill, sleek black ears standing straight on his head. “Ten, you don’t even know him. He could already be with someone else. Have you thought of that?”

“He’s not. I didn’t smell anyone else on him _and_ he’s a pedigree.”

Doyoung frowns, “Poor guy.”

Lucas comes running up to them, Ten’s babies running after him in the small of the apartment they sit in. Curtains over the windows closed and the lamps in every corner switched on. “Ten, Doie, they’re hungry!”

“Is it lunchtime already?” Doyoung sighs, standing and stretching his arms over his head.

“You go help him, Lulu. I’ve got these babies.” The giant dog hybrid nods and follows behind Doyoung, his big fluffy tail wagging behind him. Ten smiles at the teenage hybrids before him. “You guys are getting big.”

The troop of babies follow him to the couch and struggle to fit with him, snuggling. There’s the cat hybrids, Mark and Chenle, orange and dappled tabbies respectively, the mouse hybrids, Jisung and Shotaro, the fox hybrids, Renjun and Sungchan, the Samoyed hybrid, Jeno, the white bunny rabbit, Jaemin, and the rarest of the troop, Yangyang, a sheep hybrid.

“We’re only this big cause of you,” Mark purrs, nuzzling into his side.

Ten smiles and pets all their heads, stroking floppy and perky ears. He didn’t birth any of them but he might as well have. “You wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for Donghyuck. You guys better be nice and good to him.” Ten frowns, thinking of the college student. He’s studying and working harder than any other human he’s met.

Donghyuck rescued all of the hybrids cuddled around him, saved them from a pet shop that threw them out in a cardboard box. They were tiny mewling and crying baby hybrids. And Donghyuck took them in, doing what he could to keep them from dying until he came to Yuta and Kun one late night, bloody and banged up.

Ten remembers the desperation on the young adult’s face as he held a baby sheep hybrid to his chest, rescued him from a hybrid breeding mill, a dirty place full of death and fear. He remembers Kun tending to Donghyuck’s wounds, Yuta standing up for the kid when the police eventually came knocking. 

He took medicine, forcing his body into milk production so he could nurse all of the baby hybrids from as little as 4 weeks to 14 weeks. For those 4 months, he helped Donghyuck feed the baby hybrids until they were big enough to eat normal human food and shift between their forms comfortably. Doyoung and Lucas eventually caught wind of the hybrids Donghyuck was raising and joined Ten, babysitting them whenever needed.

Plates clatter in the dining room, Lucas sets down plate after plate of sandwiches and glasses of tea on the round table. They watch him for a moment before Ten returns his attention to the babies. “Have you all been acting good?”

“Mhm, we already went through all the english books you brought us,” Renjun nods towards the small shelf by the tv, filled with textbooks.

“What about the math ones?”

“Jisung and I finished ours!” Chenle smiles proudly. The mouse hybrid, beside him, pets his hands over his own small circular ears out of habit.

“Good job, Lele, Jisungie. The rest of you keep working hard and get them done, ok? What about science? Have you watched that box set Doie bought y’all?”

_“We’re halfway through it. We try to watch it with Hyuck when he has time.”_

Ten smiles, raising a hand for Shotaro to climb onto it from his shoulder. The tiny brown and white mouse crawls forward and nestles into his palm. “Y’all should just go ahead and watch it.”

“I don’t understand why we need to learn all this stuff anyway. We’re gonna be stuck here forever,” Jaemin mumbles, ignoring Jeno when he hugs onto his arm.

“You need to learn to survive. If anything ever happens, you’d have an easier life blending in with the humans than trying to make it on the streets as a stray, especially as a cat or a bunny.”

The hybrids look to him with wide eyes. Ten doesn’t like being stern with them or stressing them with the real world, but it’s necessary they know. He’s lucky they listen to him, anyway. He smiles. “If you study hard, you’ll be like Sungchan.” 

The tall fox hybrid grins, sitting between Ten’s feet, he tilts his head back till their eyes meet. “How’s that coffee shop gig going, baby?”

“Good! They don’t suspect a thing.”

Ten smiles, petting behind his ears, scritching his scalp, “Proud of you, baby. You’re very brave.”

Doyoung claps his hands from the kitchen, “Lunchtime! Come and get it!”

All of the young hybrids abandon his side, running to seat themselves at the table led by Mark, arguably the oldest of them. 

Hybrids age differently than humans do. Depending on a mix of human and their animal genetics, a hybrid can reach adult age as soon as one or two years after birth. The 9 hybrids 20-year-old Donghyuck is caring for all appear to be the same age as him and, from now on, will continue to grow at the same rate as him. With luck, they’ll live past 40. They’ll definitely live longer than Ten anyway.

And then he notices the hybrid sticking to his side. Curved horns growing over pointed black ears, all held within scruffy brown hair. Ten smiles, wrapping an arm around the sheep hybrid, “Yangyang, aren’t you hungry, baby?”

The younger looks up at him, brown eyes normal… human with a round pupil instead of an oval slit. If Ten’s honest with himself, he was most worried about little Yangyang. An uncommon breed of hybrid. He could’ve devolved and died, his human and animal halves battling it out in his DNA, but he came out strong, balanced.

“I won’t make it out there…”

“Who says you’ll end up out there?” Ten purrs, nuzzling his cheek against Yangyang’s, though careful not to bump into the sharp end of his horn.

“You never know.”

“I think Donghyuck is too fond of you to let anything happen to you. Don’t worry about that stuff. We’re still young.”

“No, _I’m_ still young,” Yangyang chuckles when Ten narrows his eyes at him. He jumps out of the way of a clawed hand and runs to fit in the empty space between Mark and Renjun at the table.

Doyoung comes and sits next to him with Lucas joining the others at the table, squeezing into the already impossible small space with his own sandwich and tea. “So about your victim—”

Ten chuckles, “Victim, really?”

“—How are you planning to ‘romance’ him?”

“Why? You need tips for making a move on… What was his name…? Jaehyun?”

Doyoung turns red in the face and reaches to wring Ten’s neck, falling into the couch when said cat scoots away, chuckling. “Shut your mouth!”

“Aww, but it was a simple question, Doie. I think you’d succeed in wooing that giant bunny. You gotta be careful though! I know how you bunnies _loooove_ multiplying.”

“If it weren’t for how much I respect Kun and how much he loves you, I’d take the rest of your lives, you—!”

Ten holds a hand up, his tail curling in amusement behind him at the way Doyoung bares his little rabbit prey teeth at him, “Ah! Ah! Ah! No cussing in front of my babies, you know the rules.”

The lock jangles with a key, their attention shooting towards the front door. No one is supposed to be coming home at this hour. Lucas, after a nod from Ten and Doyoung, shifts, his giant dog form running to stand in front of the door, a growl already reverberating in his throat. The baby hybrids abandon their plates and cups, shifting and running over to the couch, huddling with the adults.

Lucas’ growls only grow louder as the door opens, afternoon light spilling in. He pounces, a high-pitched cry following the action. The hybrids huddled between Ten and Doyoung flinch and tuck further into them, hiding. Ten meets Doyoung’s eyes and quietly moves off the couch, creeping towards the door.

He isn’t expecting to see a chuckling Donghyuck under Lucas’ mass of fur, kicking and grinning as the mastiff licks at his face and hands. He deadpans, “Hyuckie, you nearly scared us half to death. What the hell.”

Donghyuck sits up, smiling and petting Lucas’ licking muzzle away, “What’s up? I’m off early today.”

“You could’ve texted Doyoung and let us know,” Ten shakes his head, stepping back into the apartment. “False alarm. It’s just Ducky.”

Doyoung and the babies breathe a sigh of relief. They all excitedly exchange greetings, bantering and smiling and laughing. Ten yawns, watching them. Lucas and Doyoung eventually leave, needing to return to their owners. Donghyuck gives his hybrid roommates his backpack stuffed full of snacks and candy before stepping just out of the apartment with Ten.

“Thanks for watching them. I’ll repay you someday,” Donghyuck smirks.

Ten rolls his eyes, “Yeah, if I’m not dead before then.”

“Why don’t you have a phone, Ten? Every time I text Doyoung it’s like playing 21 questions.”

“The fuck I need a phone for? I am a rebel. A thug. A wild animal. I only answer to—”

“Hi, Kun!”

Ten whips around so fast his neck nearly snaps. Donghyuck bursts out laughing as the hybrid realizes he was fooled, turning back to the human with a glare. “Ha. Ha. Very funny.”

“You should’ve seen the look on your face—” Donghyuck sighs, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes—“Priceless!”

Ten crosses his arms, “Yeah, yeah… Ducky, listen, I won’t be able to help you next week or the week after… and probably the week after that too. Probably till after Christmas.”

“Why? You goin’ somewhere? Family vacation?”

“Not this year.”

“Then what is it?”

“You needs not worry what I’m doing,” Ten raises one of his hands, inspecting his claws. “I’ll come by and visit, but don’t expect anything more than that.”

“Yeah, ok, I’ll call Doyoungie or Xuxi if anything.”

“Great! Also, I know it’s not any of my business, but you should really sort out your ‘thing’ with my little sheep sheep. The stress isn’t good for either of you—” Donghyuck blushes and looks away as Ten pats his shoulder with a smile—“Bye, Ducky.” He doesn’t look back as he walks off, back upstairs towards his own apartment. He takes his time, humming softly to himself, wondering how it’s possible for it to be this warm during fall. He’s in nothing but sweatpants and a sweater and the chill barely seeps into his skin.

He lets himself into the cozy warm apartment, kicking his slides off by the door. “I’m home!” Stepping around the tall cubby by the door, he sees Kun in the kitchen with a very familiar dog hybrid.

Kun gives him that look, the one where his usual snappy remarks won’t be tolerated, before returning his attention to the tall hybrid in front of him. He presses a foil-covered plate into his hands and slips a couple of bills and a foil packet—contraceptives—into the pocket of his hoodie. “There you go. If you need anything else, you can always come to us, ok?”

The dog hybrid nods, eyes downcast, floppy ears folded back, tail tucked away against the back of one of his thighs.

Kun smiles kindly, “Be careful out there, Woo.”

Ten steps aside as his human leads the dog hybrid towards the front door. He tries not to wrinkle his nose so much at the stink of him. Wet dog. Kun keeps uttering soft encouraging words until the hybrid has left.

“I thought he was off the streets,” Ten says, watching as Kun flicks off the light in the kitchen and then sits at his work desk.

“He was,” Kun clicks away on his computer. “It isn’t easy to give up that life, _you_ know that.”

Ten frowns, arching a brow at Kun as he plops down on the couch beside his work desk and opposite the flat screen tv. “I wasn’t as bad as he was. Jungwoo should just stay in that shelt—”

Kun glares over his shoulder at him, “You were worse. He is doing the best he can at the moment… Besides, he’ll turn a new leaf one of these days. You just need to keep patient and show love.” He returns his attention to his computer when it chimes. Back to work.

Ten sighs and shifts, climbing up onto his favorite perch and plopping down. Kun and Yuta rescued Jungwoo from the streets way back when, back before he lived with them, and he was on a good course, learning and adapting, but, ultimately, his animal half won out and he was back on the streets as a stray. He _could_ admit himself into a shelter, they’d rehabilitate him, help him balance both sides, but he hasn’t yet. 

His humans are too kind for their own good.

Ten shakes his head with another sigh and then he notices a shadowy figure watching him from across the building. Taeyong sits at his window, curled into a loaf, striking gold eyes staring right at him. Ten purrs and looks over his shoulder, Kun is distracted, already gone as he hums and bops his head along to some composition. He smirks and shifts only to slide the window open by centimeters. 

In his cat form, he squeezes through the crack and onto the tiny ledge outside. Without breaking a sweat, he lunges and lands on the tree between the buildings, the few red leaves on the bare branches shaking with the movement. He climbs across and hops onto Taeyong’s ledge, purring victoriously.

Taeyong stares at him wide-eyed and sits up. His white fur looks so soft. Ten wishes he could bury his face in it.

_“I heard that.”_

_“Oh, did I say that out loud again?”_

Taeyong blinks and Ten would grin if he could, he settles on pawing at the window.

_“Let me in.”_

_“You’re a good climber.”_

_“Thanks. Let me in.”_

Taeyong sits again, paws curled under him, _“Why?”_

_“It’s cold out here! Come on! I’ll meow real loud.”_

_“You won’t. Your human will hear you. You’ll get in trouble.”_

Ten snorts and paws at the window with his claws, satisfied with the clink, clink, clink.

_“Stop that.”_

_“Let me in.”_

_“No.”_

_“Come oooonn. I swear I’m a real good kitty.”_ He smirks, saying that last part more suggestively than necessary. Taeyong is flustered enough to stand and walk away from the window, his ears twitching, tail high in the air. Ten presses his face to the glass, eyes glued to the white cat’s prized family jewels. _“It’s like two puppies fighting under a blanket… Boom, bada boom, bada boom.”_

The window opens and Ten falls forward, face-planting on the perch within. “Hi, Ten. Come to play with TY?”

Ten rolls forward into the apartment, shifting as he does so he’s standing inside, facing the tall human owner of the place. “Yes, Johnny sir! You don’t mind, do you?”

“Of course not. Please bug my cat as much as you like. _Please_.” Johnny says the last part a bit desperately and Ten smirks.

“Thank you. I promise to be a real good house guest.”

“Ok, I’ll be in the kitchen if you two need anything.” Johnny walks off after patting him on the head and Ten shifts again, hounding Taeyong down, chasing that tomcat scent.

_“Oh, Yongie! Loverboy! Don’t hide from meeee!”_ He finds him in a different room, _his_ room if the cute pink items are any indicator. Plain white bed, pink pillows, pink fluffy rug, pink stuffed bunny, pink drapes, house plants lining a desk, bookshelf full of books and figurines. _“Cute room.”_

_“Who let you in here?!”_

_“Johnny~!”_

Taeyong sighs from where he’s sitting on his bed. Ten hops up with him, cuddling into his side. He purrs when the white cat doesn’t move away.

_“What you been up to,_ **_boyfriend_** _?”_

_“I’m not your boyfriend.”_

_“Yet,”_ Ten purrs.

Taeyong rolls his eyes the best he can, but still doesn’t move away. Ten takes to grooming him, licking at the long white fur. Taeyong doesn’t push him away and he nearly giggles victoriously like a damn anime school girl.

_“I’m supposed to be shipped out of the country before Christmas.”_

_“For what?”_

_“They found another hybrid like me. They want us to… you know.”_

Ten scoffs and rests a paw over Taeyong’s back, licking closer to his neck where his fur seems to be thickest. _“You ain’t going nowhere.”_

_“What? Why not?”_

_“You’ll see. Hey, our humans are getting close. I think they like each other. You know what that means?”_

_“What… does that mean?”_

_“I get to spend more time with you,_ **_boyfrieeeennnnddd~!_** _”_

_“I’m not your boyfriend.”_

Taeyong licks the black cat’s forehead once and Ten just about melts, leaning into him. They cuddle, intertwined, a warm ball of black and white fur. Ten doesn’t let anything else bother him, just focuses on Taeyong’s soft breathing, his deep purrs, the feel of his body next to his own. 

He shifts before he can fall asleep and stares down at Taeyong’s bewildered little cat face before he also shifts. Ten’s breath catches in his throat and he smiles, “You’re pretty.” 

Taeyong arches a brow and looks away. Ten pouts, “Why are you being so cold with me? Can't you smell me?”

Taeyong stands and Ten thinks he’s gonna walk out, but he’s pleasantly surprised when he closes the door almost all the way and returns to him on the bed. Those golden eyes pierce him, staring him down in a manner that makes Ten feel exposed, seen, _really seen_. Taeyong rests one hand on his nape and Ten sees stars, falling into the bed, lower body trembling. He feels the white cat crawl over him. He tries to scoot his spasming rear closer to him, feels one of his thighs against him, and emits a weird high pitched noise in his throat.

“I can’t control myself around you,” Taeyong whispers against his ear. “You look like a toy jaguar and I can’t help wanting to be devoured every time you look at me… You drive me crazy…” 

Ten shudders and purrs, turning slowly onto his stomach but then Taeyong lets go of his neck and pulls away. Ten sits up immediately, chasing his touch. “No, wait, wait, why’d you stop?”

“We’re not alone.”

“If that’s the case,” Ten grins, taking hold of Taeyong’s hand, and leads his boyfriend out of the room and towards the front door. Johnny only looks up to wave goodbye and the apartment is left behind. They shift once outside. 

A black cat runs through neatly trimmed bushes and up over rooftops, chased by a white cat.

~~~

His dreams are noble. Rescuing his white cat prince from towers, evading enemies through slums, making a home for his love, carving out space in his abdomen for _his_ love, for somethings equal parts them. Keeping them all safe and together. And his. And Taeyong. And Ten and Taeyong. One not without the other for the rest of their lives.

He wakes up before Taeyong does some… who knows how long after. It’s night, but the hour evades him. Ten yawns, stretching out, sinking his claws into the bed of leaves. He glances to the side, Taeyong is fast asleep. Brown and orange brittle pieces of earth tangled in his fur. How does he keep it so soft?

Taeyong sighs in his sleep, purring softly. Ten purrs, grooms him. When he’s satisfied, he crawls out of their hiding place and shifts. He carries a purring, sleeping cat Taeyong all the way back to his home. Taeil opens the door, lets him tuck his boyfriend into his bed and then he follows the dimly lit hall to the bright living room. The curtains are pulled closed over the window and the Christmas tree in the corner is glowing white and yellow, red ornaments strung prettily.

Isn’t it kind of early for a Christmas tree?

“Hey,” a voice calls softly. Ten glances over. Taeyong’s humans sit at their table, mugs and laptops between them. They both smile when he comes closer.

“Kun called us, asking if we’d seen you.” Johnny closes his laptop and stands.

“Sorry. We got carried away.”

“It’s ok.”

“Please come more often,” Taeil murmurs into his mug.

Ten smiles, “Why? Y’all gonna kidnap me? I’m a stranger.”

“Not really. I mean, you are technically, but you’re really not—” Johnny rubs absentmindedly at his arm—“We don’t completely understand how hybrid relationships work. We know it’s not the same as human ones. But we do know it’s a good thing whatever is happening between you and our Taeyongie.”

“He tells us he can feel you in his bones,” Taeil shrugs with a small smile.

Ten’s smile pulls into a grin. He hugs both the humans, pressing his nose to their temples. They smell like each other, like one. “I promise to do right by him.”

“We know,” Johnny pats his head, smiling wide when the hybrid purrs. “You should get home. Tell your parents we’ll do it—” Ten quirks a brow and Johnny chuckles—“They’ll understand. Go on.”

Ten strolls home, heart warm and fuzzy, mind filled with daydreams of _Taeyong, Taeyong, Taeyong._

  
  
  
  


Kun shrieking like a little bitch is what wakes him the next morning. He lumbers out of his room, annoyed, to see Yuta grabbing a trash bag from the kitchen and Kun standing at the front door, staring down at something.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Someone left dead—” Kun gags and shakes his head, stepping away from the door.

Yuta grabs his husband’s wrist, leading him away from it with a plastic bag in the other hand.

Ten strides over and grins when he sees what the fuss is about. A pile of dead mice and birds sit just outside the door, smelling faintly of a certain tomcat. “These are mine! Sorry, Kun!” He takes the plastic bag from Yuta, picks up the snacks, and goes back into his room, leaving behind his very confused owners.

~~~

He tries to spend every day after that chasing his favorite cat around. He climbs over to his window whenever he can until Kun gets concerned enough that he makes him wear his collar before going anywhere. Johnny comes over a few times, talking with Yuta late into the night. Ten curls up in the tall human’s lap every time, chasing the scent on him, however faint it may be. And then one day, Taeyong isn’t there at the window, neither are his humans.

Ten climbs back home, mewing pitifully. Kun looks over his shoulder when he hears him. He cradles him and closes the window.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Kun looks him over, pressing on his bones to feel for anything broken. Ten shifts in Kun’s arms, even though he knows he hates it. Kun exclaims and bends forward at the sudden onslaught of weight, but he doesn’t let him hit the floor. “Ten!”

“Kuuuunnn! My boyfriend is gone!” Ten whines, burying his face in his shoulder. He sniffles and fake sobs.

“Bitch! I thought you were actually hurt! You’re too heavy to do that! You’re not a baby anymore,” Kun sets him down and peels his hands off to return to his work desk.

“I _am_ hurt! My heart! It’s broken!” Ten pouts.

“Quit that whining! Taeyong is downtown with Yuta. They’ll be back later.”

Ten wipes at his non-existent tears and crawls over to Kun, resting his chin on his knee. “Will they be back before Christmas?” He sniffles.

“They’ll be back before dinner,” Kun sighs.

And Ten boo-hoo-hoo’s on Kun’s lap the rest of the day, kneading his claws in his jeans even though he tells him not to. The kneading earns him flicks to the forehead, and, eventually, Kun just gives up trying to get him to stop. He gets up and goes into the kitchen to make dinner, setting Christmas music to play over Ten’s whines.

Ten curls up in Kun’s chair, swimming in his oversized hoodie and sweatpants, watching as he brings out his favorite pot and starts adding water and beef, slow cooking it with tomato and herbs and spices. He pouts and waits for Kun to be completely distracted before logging into his computer and adding his Christmas list to Kun’s to-do list. He gets that done, continues to sulk in the chair, and then, because he misses Taeyong so much, locks himself in his room and plays with his toys, stuffing them in both ends.

  
  
  
  


“Ten baby.”

_“Hm?”_ He purrs and emerges from his blanket cocoon.

“Come here, baby.”

Ten shifts as he leaves his bed behind, following Yuta’s voice out to the living area. He squints against the light, Kun, Taeil, and Johnny sit around on the couch. “Hi hi,” Ten yawns and then smiles when he spots Taeyong, curled up in Kun’s lap.

Yuta passes him an envelope with a grin, “Merry Christmas, Ten baby.”

Ten quirks a brow and opens it, drawing out the papers within. He’s too sleepy to understand the legal jargon. “Aww, thank you! What is… this?”

“My freedom,” Taeyong approaches him, shifted. His ears perked on his head, fluffy tail held high. “The contract is null. I can stay with Johnny and Taeil… with you, with ours.”

Ten drops the papers, staring up at his love, “With me?”

Taeyong nods, smiling as he lets a hand rest over his nape again, squeezing softly, kneading. Ten purrs and tries really really hard not to cry, but Taeyong’s smile is so beautiful. He’s never seen him smile before and now he is because of _him_ , _because of Ten._

Their humans fade in the background. Taeyong and Ten climb up to the highest perch in their cat forms, nearing the ceiling. Their purrs are on the same wavelength, synchronized like their hearts. Taeyong takes to grooming him, licking over his face and neck.

_“I told you you weren’t going anywhere.”_

_“Should’ve listened to you.”_ Taeyong purrs and brushes their noses together. _“How’d you know it was me?”_

_“When I was a stray, I stared death in the face every hour of every minute. I’ve met with fate and walked away with a better understanding of her with every encounter. I saw you, your apple cider eyes, and I just knew.”_

Taeyong nuzzles his face to his, _“I wish we’d met sooner.”_

_“We met exactly when we were supposed to. We have the rest of time together, Tae.”_ Ten nuzzles back and rests his face in the thick fur of his love. _“You know, I almost ran away a few times after they found me. I thought I’d have a better chance of meeting you out there, but Yuta and Kun… They_ **_really_ ** _love me, so I was happy just living with them even if I never met my… well, you.”_

_“When are you going to tell them?”_

_“Christmas.”_

_“Can you keep it a secret that long?”_

_“I can if you help me.”_ Ten licks him once and dozes off to Taeyong’s grooming.

Two weeks before Christmas, they run away, leaving only notes for their owners.

~~~

“I just— I don’t understand why he’d run away. Were we bad parents, Ilie?” Johnny blows his nose, using tissues from the box Kun holds out towards him. He’s been sobbing into his husband’s shoulder non-stop and Kun can tell Taeil is starting to get annoyed with it, but, regardless, he wipes at Johnny’s face.

“We’re not his parents, to begin with, my cry-baby. The police or a shelter will alert us if they find them, also you’re gonna use up all of Kun’s tissues.”

“It’s ok, I have a lot more.”

Kun sits at the other end of the couch from the married couple. They’ve been coming over nearly every day since their hybrids ran off.

“But Yong’s never been on his own before. What if he freezes or gets run over or gets chased by dogs? What if—”

“If he’s with Ten, he’ll be fine. Ten used to be a stray and I can tell you with 1000% certainty that he wouldn’t let anything happen to Taeyong—” Yuta comes near, passing Johnny and Taeil mugs of hot chocolate—“My Ten baby would do anything for those he loves.”

Taeil murmurs a thank you, encouraging his tall husband to drink his chocolate. Yuta settles next to Kun, rests an arm over his shoulders. Kun crosses his arms, shakes his head, and leans into his husband.

“Tomorrow’s Christmas…”

“They’ll turn up, Kunnie,” Yuta presses a kiss to his temple. “I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Kun stands and turns to address the other couple. “Will you be staying here tonight?”

Johnny nods, “If you don’t mind… Taeyong would follow Ten to the ends of the universe. He’ll probably show up here first.”

Kun goes to get them extra blankets. He doesn’t offer Ten’s room to them. He completely avoids it actually. He tries not to think… what if that was the last time he ever saw him? Scolding him for not setting the dishes in the washer correctly. What if that was the last thing he ever told him? Instead of “I love you, Ten. I’ve loved you since you were an angry little teen. I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

Taeil and Johnny share the couch, cuddled into each other. They leave the window open a crack just in case their cats come back. Yuta switches off the lights and follows Kun to bed. He kisses away his silent tears as they lay together.

  
  
  


Kun wakes up at the same time Johnny does, lured into the kitchen by the coffee machine. Yuta wakes up soon after them. The apartment is quiet. Too quiet. Kun sets some Christmas music to play softly to breach the silence. And then Taeil wakes, sitting up in the middle of the couch.

“What’s that noise?”

Johnny joins his husband’s side, running his fingers through his hair to comb it down. “Music, baby.”

“No, not that. Listen.”

All the adults quiet. Then they hear it. A tiny, soft mewling. Kun moves before anyone else, his legs carrying him over to the Christmas tree in the corner. Below it are the multitude of gifts Ten asked for, all wrapped up and nice. But then there’s also a new gift there, a big stocking filled with squirming.

He pulls the stocking out slowly, gently, and tears up at the little bundles within. Siamese kittens. So small their eyes and ears are still screwed shut, but their fuzzy fur has the seal-points already. Fluffy white fur and the darkest ears, faces, feet.

He cradles the stocking, careful not to let the kittens fall out or get squished. “Yuta…”

His husband nears to kneel beside him, confusion written in his features. “Where did they come from?”

“Yuta, don’t play. Where did you get them?” Kun sniffles.

“Baby, I’m telling you, I didn’t get any kittens.”

Kun glances up at Johnny and Taeil, standing over them, also staring at the kittens in wonder. They shake their heads no.

“ **SURPRISE!!!** ”

They whip around to see Ten and Taeyong standing there in funky poses, Ten with his arms over his head and Taeyong contorting all his limbs to resemble a lizard for some reason. “Merry Christmas!” Ten grins and strides over to Kun’s side like he hasn’t been missing for two weeks. “Did you like the gift?!”

Ten takes the stocking and places one kitten in each of the shocked adults’ hands. Four tiny mewling Siamese kittens.

“You left us just to get these kittens?” Johnny sniffles, holding the kitten carefully in his huge hands.

“Yes! It would’ve ruined the surprise if I gave birth in here!”

The humans look between the hybrids bewildered, to Ten, to Taeyong, to the kittens, and back at them. “Uh, Ten, I’m not calling you a slut, but are you sure these are yours _and_ Taeyong’s babies?” Yuta gestures at the kittens.

Ten deadpans, “Yes, I’m sure. Taeyong is my baby daddy.” He grins. “I got a DNA test done. Apparently, I’m like a super rare black Siamese cat!”

The kittens’ mewling grows louder and Taeyong goes around collecting his babies from them. “Well, that explains the blue eyes,” Taeil mutters.

Kun shakes his head, “How did you even—”

“I memorized your credit card information!” Ten grins and claps his hands, reclining on the couch as Taeyong brings their kittens to him.

Yuta smiles, “I’m a grandpa! Woo! I have grandbabies!” He joins Taeil and Johnny doing a little celebratory dance.

Kun wipes the tears from his eyes, “When did you two even… you know?”

Taeyong blushes pink and Ten smirks, “About two months ago. My Yongie is a little shy, but he’s a freak in the sheets! Woo, baby!”

“Tenie!” Taeyong burrows his face in his hands.

Ten cackles and pets his hands over his kittens. The furry beans rest against his chest and neck.

“What are their names?” Johnny nears, cooing down at the babies.

“This is Louis, Louis Two, Louis Three, and Louis Four.” Ten smiles and purrs, kissing each of his kittens on their tiny heads.

“Ten Qian Nakamoto—!”

“—I’m Ten Lee now—”

“I know damn well you didn’t name your babies that!”

“We need to celebrate!” Yuta marches into the kitchen. “Help me with the food and the wine!”

Taeil follows behind him, passing Johnny some keys. “We have a champagne bottle. Go get it.”

Kun, too annoyed to say anything else, narrows his eyes at Ten and struts off into the kitchen to help his screeching husband. Ten smiles and sets his babies in Taeyong’s arms so he can shift into his cat form. Taeyong holds their kittens in his hands, his golden eyes twinkling with emotion, love and warmth, purring so deeply, he swears he can feel it rattling the entirety of the room, everything down to his bones.

Ten really wasn’t expecting to meet him. His soulmate. His complement. He doesn’t remember what he was in his previous life, he probably won’t remember this one when it’s finally time to go to the next, but he does know one thing. He’s going to remember the soul in those apple cider eyes for the rest of the time, in all the different periods and forms they’ll meet.

Taeyong sets their kittens down near him and shifts, laying down close. He butts their foreheads together gently. 

_“Tenie.”_

_“Yongie.”_ He brushes their noses together, kissing him softly.

The tides of love in those golden eyes grow bigger, pulling him in naturally. Ten lets himself drown.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Whew! This was supposed to be a short 3-4k fic and I just straight up word vomited. I hope y'all liked it. Here's some extra bits that didn't fit in to the story:  
> -Taeyong's parents, Turkish Angora Kai (Kim Jongin), Ragdoll Taemin  
> -Ten gives all the presents he asked for to Hyuck and the hybrid babies  
> -Everyone falls in love with taeten's siamese babies. Louis Two, Three, and Four all come out with ty's long fluffy hair, except for Louis  
> -Yanghyuck get together and Sungchan makes enough money for them to move to a bigger place  
> -Jungwoo gets better and meets Lucas through Ten  
> -Also, Taeten soulmates
> 
> Hope you're all doing well, staying safe and healthy! Love y'all! <3


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